1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a facsimile communication system, wherein an information offerer stores information or data in a store-and-forward switching apparatus (hereinafter referred to as "the host") for exclusive use in a facsimile communication service while an information user picks up desired information from among the stored information using a terminal facsimile apparatus.
2. Description Prior Art
Recently, the facsimile communication services have been widely available. In the facsimile communication services, the information offerers store a great amount of information to be offered in the store-and-forward switching apparatuses or hosts, respectively, which are for exclusive use in the facsimile communication services, and the users can freely pick up the desired information from among the stored information by operating their terminal facsimile apparatuses, respectively.
Hereinbelow, an operation of a conventional user's terminal facsimile apparatus in the facsimile communication service will be described with reference to FIGS. 24 and 25.
In an operation A, the user first makes a call to the host. In case the user takes advantage of the information to be offered by this host on a frequent basis, the user may record a telephone number of this host in the user's facsimile apparatus for the abbreviated dialing so as to make a call using the abbreviated dialing.
When a telephone line is closed, an audio guidance 1 is sent from the host. The audio guidance 1 is, for example, "Please send a service number of a service to be utilized." In response to this audio guidance 1, when the user wants a service of "requesting trial examination result" to be offered, the user dials a service number "1234" representative of the service of "requesting trial examination result" in an operation B.
After sending the service number, an audio guidance 2 is sent from the host. The audio guidance 2 is, for example, "Please send an examinee's number." In response to this audio guidance 2, the user dials a desired examinee's number, for example, "12345678" in an operation C.
After sending the examinee's number, an audio guidance 3 is sent from the host. The audio guidance 3 is, for example, "Please push a facsimile start button." In response to this audio guidance 3, the user pushes the facsimile start button in an operation D. Accordingly, a CED signal which is a called terminal identification signal is sent to the host from the user's facsimile apparatus.
Subsequently, a facsimile communication is started between the host and the user's facsimile apparatus as in the known manner so that the required information on the trial examination result for the designated examinee's number is sent from the host to the user's facsimile apparatus as image or picture data.
According to the foregoing conventional structure, it is fully convenient for a beginner to take advantage of the facsimile communication service since the terminal facsimile apparatus can be operated according to the audio guidances from the host. On the other hand, it is burdensome for a user experienced even in some degree to follow the audio guidances one by one since such an experienced user knows what to do next and further since the same series of the operations is required every time the user requires the information. Specifically, when the user requires the information of the same kind on a frequent or sequential basis, it is burdensome to repeat the same series of the operations every time the user requires such information. For example, in the foregoing example of the operations, although only the operation C should change among the operations A to D so as to obtain the information of, such as, the trial examination results for the respective examinee's numbers sequentially, the user should repeat the series of the operations A to D every time the user requires such information.
This raises a serious problem particularly when a frequency of utilizing the facsimile communication service is high, for example, to a degree that the telephone number of the host is recorded for the abbreviated dialing.